Tottenha boss Amdre Villas-Boas keen to avoid Reading blip

31 December 2012 02:47

Andre Villas-Boas has told his Tottenham players it would be "silly" for them to let their standards slip at home again when they host Reading.

Spurs will be expected to brush aside a Reading team they beat comfortably in September's reverse fixture, but their patchy home form this season suggests victory cannot be taken for granted.

"The problem with that fixture is that we have done extremely well away from home, but we have to keep up the momentum," Villas-Boas said.

"We have to keep our home form going and it would be silly for us not to continue at this level, so it is a fixture in which we really want to get the three points to close finally the festive fixtures with three wins, hopefully, and one draw."

Villas-Boas hailed his players as "magnificent" over the past month.

He added: "They have been excellent. The December that we had shows exactly that. We had big, big results against difficult teams and the Europa League in between. If we manage to take this form into January, it would be excellent."

Spurs will be without talismanic winger Gareth Bale against Reading following his latest controversial yellow card for diving, something which took him over the suspension threshold. But Bale's partner in crime on the opposite flank, Aaron Lennon, showed at Sunderland on Saturday it was not only the Welshman who could deliver stunning solo goals.

Villas-Boas claimed Lennon's winner was exactly the reason the 25-year-old had been given a new four-year contract earlier this season.

"It was a beautiful goal," Villas-Boas told Spurs TV Online. "It was a moment of magic from Lennon, a player who is a credit. This season, he's showing that he's on another level.

"He signed his contract with us, he's committed and always gives everything for the team. It was a great goal, great inspiration."